[10][11] In the fall of 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike stopped at the mouth of the Upper Iowa River to meet with Chief Wabasha, "son of the great Wapashaw," before proceeding north on his first expedition.

[7] On September 23, 1805, he held a council with seven Mdewakanton "chiefs"[12] to negotiate the purchase of 100,000 acres of land so that the United States could build a fort at the mouth of the Minnesota River.

Soon afterward, Lieutenant Pike was sent on an expedition to Mexico and General Wilkinson left St. Louis abruptly due to his involvement in the Aaron Burr conspiracy, leaving further diplomatic relations with the Dakota to fall to others.

The British fur traders had also suggested the possibility of establishing a permanent Indian nation, closed to settlers, that would serve as a buffer between Canada and the United States.

[13] Robert Dickson and other traders with the North West Company were commissioned as British army officers, and Wabasha II and Little Crow I were both named generals of the Indian forces.

When his tribesmen complained about the lack of guns, ammunitions and lead, Chief Wabasha took out the medals and flags he had received from the Americans to show that he could wield influence with them if needed.

After the Americans surrendered Fort Shelby, the Mdewakanton warriors spent most of their energy protecting the defeated U.S. troops from the Ho-Chunks (Winnebagos) who seemed intent on attacking them.

Chief Wabasha continued to support the British outwardly but the commander was aware that he regularly received visits from tribes sympathetic to the Americans, including the Yanktons and Wahpekutes.

Will these presents pay for the men we have lost in battle?...Will they make good your promises?”[15]As a result, McDouall wrote many letters to his superiors arguing in favor of British intervention against the military outposts that the United States was planning to build in Green Bay and Prairie du Chien.

[5]: 93 On their way back from Drummond Island, Wabasha and Little Crow were traveling with their men down the Wisconsin River toward Prairie du Chien, when they were stopped by the new American commanding officer, Brevet Brigadier General Thomas A. Smith.

Chief Wabasha explained that they intended to join their tribesmen who had pitched their tents above the town, at a location traditionally reserved for the Dakota, after returning from St. Louis.

General Smith wrote that he was satisfied that Chief Wabasha, a leader with "dignity and superior understanding," had been won over to support the Americans, observing that Wapasha had led his men in "shaking the flags with much zeal.

[16]: 60 In the fall of 1817, several Sioux leaders including Wabasha and Shakopee took turns visiting Indian agent Benjamin O'Fallon in Prairie du Chien.

[17][7]: 32–34 In his journal, Forsyth was negative in his assessment of the upper Mississippi River valley, describing it as "a mountainous, broken, rocky and sterile country, not fit for either man or beast to live in.

"[17][7] After offering him a gift of a blanket, a pipe of tobacco, and some powder, Forsyth described Wabasha's reaction:He accepted of the presents with thanks, and, after sundown, he came aboard of my boat to visit me, and conversed on many subjects.

According to Keating, Chief Wabasha was interested in a wide range of subjects:Wapasha spoke of the advantages of the arts and agriculture; of his wish to see them introduced; he expressed his desire to accept the invitation, given him by the Indian agent, to accompany him to the seat of government, as he was anxious to see how every thing was managed among white men.

The chiefs and headmen in attendance represented tribes including the Dakota Sioux, the Ojibwe, the Sauk and Meskwaki (Fox), the Menomonee, the Iowa, the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), and the Odawa.

Within months, it became evident that neither the Dakota nor the Ojibwe were willing to be restricted by the boundaries established in the treaty, and the tribes quickly reverted back to their previous pattern of hostilities.

[19] In the summer of 1830, a second conference of the northwestern tribes was held at Prairie du Chien, with United States treaty commissioners William Clark, superintendent of Indian affairs based in St. Louis, and Colonel Willoughby Morgan of the 1st Infantry Regiment at Fort Crawford.

While the annuities promised in the 1830 treaty were "too small to have much effect, good or bad, on the Santee Sioux,"[7] Taliaferro tried to use them to build support for his efforts, particularly as local fur traders under newcomer Henry Hastings Sibley became less willing to provide for their needs.

[7] Wabasha briefly protested when he found out that the planned blacksmith shop would be located at St. Peters Agency – too far for his sizable band to benefit from the rat spears, hoes and metal traps it would produce.

[25]: 191–200 On May 21, 1832, Chief Wabasha held peace talks with the Dubuque Meskwaki (Fox) in the presence of Colonel Willoughby Morgan at Prairie du Chien.

Toward the end of May, after the United States declared war against Chief Black Hawk, Brevet Brigadier General Henry Atkinson sent a message from Dixon, Illinois to Prairie du Chien, instructing Indian agent Joseph M. Street to recruit the Sioux to fight with them.

Wabasha and the other leaders wanted a lump sum, which they would divide up as they saw fit; Street insisted on paying each warrior individually, while admitting that his records were flawed.

[25] Wabasha's men, led by head soldier The Bow (also known as "L'Arc" or "Lark"), were placed under the command of Colonel William S. Hamilton,[25] together with a group of Menominees and Ho-Chunks (Winnebagos).

On June 16, 1832, they arrived at the Pecatonica River battleground, one hour after the volunteer militia led by Colonel Henry Dodge had already killed and scalped the eleven Kickapoo warriors who had attacked them.

Following "a fortnight of inconspicuous service," the Dakota were marching with Colonel Hamilton to join General Atkinson's army in fighting Black Hawk's men, when all but six of them had a change of heart, turned around, and fled.

[25] Some returned home through Galena, Illinois, where they were held briefly as deserters;[27] others went to Prairie du Chien, where they were met by Indian agent Street, who reprimanded them for their "cowardice".

On his return trip, Captain Throckmorton learned that Black Hawk and the "British band" were at the mouth of the Bad Axe River, and was soon engaged in battle.

General Atkinson, who was on board the Warrior with Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor and Captain Throckmorton on their way back to Prairie du Chien, immediately gave orders for the Sioux to pursue the remaining Sauks who were fleeing into the "neutral" Iowa country.